Garbage grinder



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. R. COSS ET AL GARBAGE GRINDER Sept. 18, 1951 Filedoct. 29, 1945 SePt- 18, 1951 G. R. coss ET Al. 2,567,992

GARBAGE GRINDER Filed oct. 29, 1945 2 sheets-sheet 2 HTTOF/VEV.

Patented 18, 1951 UNITED4 STATES PATENT OFFICE GARBAGE GRINDER George R.Coss and Kemper M. Hammell, Detroit,

Mich., assignors to Eureka Williams Corporation, a corporation`ofMichigan 'Application October 29, 1945, Serial No. 625,266

11 Claims.

This invention relates to means adapted to be associated with the drainoutput of a sink for reducing garbage so that the same may be carried bywater through a sewer system, such means being commonly referred to asgarbage grinders.

Principal objects of the invention are to provide:

A new and improved construction for a garbage grinder;

A novel and simple closure for a garbage grinder;

A new and improved closure and motor switch control for a garbagegrinder.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims and will be understood by reference tothe accompanying drawings, of which there are two sheets, which, by wayof illustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principles thereofand what we now consider to be the best mode in which we havecontemplated applying those principles. Other embodiments of theinvention may be used and structural changes may be made as desired bythose skilled in the art Without departing from the present inventionand the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of adeviceembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the motor circuit for the device;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the device separated from the sink;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the foot-operated motor andclosure control; and

Fig. 5 is a front elevational View of the footoperated portion of thedevice shown in Fig. 4.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for purposes ofillustration, the garbage grinder comprises a generally cylindrical,vertically cxtending chamber I0 provided at its bottom periphery withaxially extending cutting or shredding teeth I2 and a series of slots I4forming a lateral discharge for the reduced material, a co1- lectingtrough I6 surrounding the cutting teeth I2, power driven rotary hammersor impellers Il inthe bottom of the chamber I0 for impelling material onthe bottom wall I9 thereof against the teeth I2 and for expellingreduced material outwardly through the discharge outlet into the troughI 6, and an electric motor for driving the impellers.

The chamber I0 may be provided by a plurality of castings 22, 24 and 26and a, shredding ring 21 in which the teeth I2 are formed. The

motor 20 may be bolted to the cup-shaped lower casting member 26 andhave its shaft 28 project upwardly through a suitable opening in thebottom wall of the chamber I0 at the center thereof. The bottom wall atthe center thereof may be recessed so as to accommodate a running seal32 for the shaft 28.

The upper casting member 22 of the chamber I0 is formed for attachmentto a drain outlet of a sink 36. In this case the drain outlet may beformed by a neck 34 which seats within an opening in the bottom wall ofthe sink 38 and the neck 34 is externally threaded at the lower endthereof for threaded engagement with the threads formed in the upperpart of the casting member 22.

The casting members 22 and 24 may be frustoconical in shape so as toform a frusto-conical chamber I0. The meeting edges of the castingmembers 22 and 24 are separated by gasket members 40, the outer edges ofwhich are lapped over outwardly projecting exterior anges 42 on thecasting members 22 and 24, and an annular contractible channel-shapedclamping ring 44 extend around the chamber II) and encloses the anges 42as covered by the edges of the gaskets 40 so as to clamp the castingmembers 22 and 24 together and to form a seal therefor.

The casting member 24 and the parts associated therewith may beassembled to the casting member 22 after the latter has been assembledto the drain outlet 34 of the sink. One end of the clamping ring 44 hasa bolt 46 secured thereto which extends through an eye 48 carried on theother end of the clamping ring and a nut 50 threaded on the bolt 46 andtightened thereon functions to tighten the clamping ring 44 and theanges 42 and to secure the casting member 24 and the parts associatedtherewith in depending relationship to the casting member 22.

The sides of the clamping ring 44 project outwardly relative to eachother so that as the ring is tightened, the casting members 22 and 24will be drawn together so as to clamp the gaskets 40 securely betweenthe flanges in order to estabish a watertight sealed joint between themembers 22 and 24.

The lower end of the casting 24 projects outwardly from the maincylindrical portion thereof and is shaped to seat upon a complementaryshaped part of the casting 26 and to cooperate therewith so as to formthe trough I6. A series of bolts 52 cooperating with tapped and threadedholes in the flanges of the casting members 24 and 26 securely clamp thesame together.

atomes Inwardly of the trough i6 the casting members 28 and 24 areformed with annular ledges which provide seats for the shredding ring2l, the upper and lower edges of which are arranged on such ledges sothat when the casting parts 24 and 28 are assembled such shredding ring2l will be secured in position.

The shredding ring may comprise a ring of tempered steel spring (but notbrittle) which is formed to provide a series of vertically extendingteeth or cutters i2 which may slope from their base to the top in adirection opposite the direc-la tion of rotation of the impellers it,and also to provide the slots ld which define the outlet from thechamber it.

The shaft 28 projects upwardly above the bottom wall I9 of the chamberi@ and has amxed thereto a hub 'it having two oppositely arrangedradially extending arms l2. The inner ends of each of the hammers it arebifurcated so as to straddle an arm l2, and pins lli extending throughaligned holes in the hammers it and the arms l2 provide a pivotalconnection there between so that the hammers it are free to swing in aplane normal to the axis of rotation of the hub 'l0 and the hammers te.

Centrifugal force will tend to keep the hammers in their extendedposition during operation of the motor whereupon the hammers willfunction to propel material against the teeth i2 and to propel reducedmaterial through the slots ld, the size of the opening it limiting thedischarge of material from the chamber i@ until the particles thereofare of such size that they may be propelled through the openings rlli.

The construction and operation of the reducing means of which thehammers te and teeth l2 form a part is more fully described and claimedin our prior cao-pending application Serial No. 564,118, iiled November16, 1944, now Patent No. 2,421,014, of which the present application isa continuation-impart.

The trough it terminates in a coupling member te which is adapted to beconnected to the sewer system of the building.

The inlet defined by the neck 3d is adapted to be closed by a valvemember or closure et which has a universal mounting 92 on an arm @d xedto a pivot shaft 96. The arm 9d is spaced from. the closure @il so thatthe same may rock thereon. A bump 9i and a pair of arms @t limit therocking movement of the closure t@ relative to the arm iid. With thisarrangement the closure member 90 is adapted to seat against a seal it@c zrried by the neck 3d and forming a seal therewith so as to close theopening defined by the neck 3d when the parts are arranged asillustrated in Fig. l. Downward movement of closure @il permits waterand/or garbage to pass through the neck 34 into the chamber id.

The shaft 96 'is pivoted in suitable journals N2 formed integral withthe casting member 22 and a coil spring itl having the inner end thereofconnected to the shaft t@ and its outer end anchored by a pin itt isarranged to act on the shaft 96 so as to bias the closure t@ to itsclosed position, that is, the position in which it is illustrated inFig. 1.

The shaft 98 has a cam or lever it@ fixed thereto for rotationtherewith. and this cam is provided with notches i i2 and i id and a lugforming a stop M5. A roller lit carried by an arm it@ pivoted on the pinit@ is adapted to cooperate with the notches M2 and. iid so as to holdthe cam till and the shaft se and the closure et in either of its twopositions. When the roller I Il is arranged in the notch H2, which willoccur when the cam H0 is turned slightly in a counterclockwise directionfrom that illustrated in Fi. 4, the closure Sli will be slightly open,that is, spaced from the gasket |00 so as to permit the passage of waterthrough the neck 34 into the chamber i0.

When the roller M6 is seated in the notch H4, which occurs when the camH0 is rotated further in a counterclockwise direction, the closure Elwill be correspondingly moved away from the seat im) so as to provide anunobstructed passageway for the passage of material into the chamber Ilthrough the neck td.

When the closure Sli is in either of its two positions just mentioned,it may be returned to its closed position by pressing downwardly on theclosure 90 sufficiently so as to move the roller out of the notch M2 oriid with which it is en gaged and then by suddenly releasing the closurethe same will move to its closed position The stop lib limits theopening movement of the closure 90.

A link i2@ is pivoted to the cam llt and connected to a foot-operatedlever i22 arranged on the iloor adjacent the sink so that by stepping onthe foot pedal end lZ's` of the lever, the closure may be opened orfurther opened. Also by pressing on the pedal when the roller H6 is ineither of the notches M2 or iid and then releasing the pedal suddenlythe closure will also move to its closed position. This thus providesfor foot-operated or hand-operated control of positioning of the closure90.

The arm Mt is spring biased in a clockwise direction and the roller ltcarried thereby. together with the notches M2 and iid, form detent meanswhich are selectively operable for holding the closure il@ in either oftwo positions: namely, one in which the closure is slightly open so asto permit the iiow of water into the cham ber it; and the other in whichthe closure @t is depressed sumciently so as to permit the passage ofgarbage into the chamber lil through the neck 3d. The actual positioningof the closure QB for either of the two positions will depend upon thepositioning and spacing of the notches @it and Mil.

The lever l22 is pivotally mounted on a bracket im which is swiveled bymeans of a pin i2@ on a bracket igt mounted upon a base i311, the basebeing adapted to be arranged on the floor below the vertical axis of thepin B26. A casing E32 encloses the parts of the foot-operated con trolexcept the pedal 23, and has mounted thereon a switch i3d which isarranged opposite the support for the motor 2t. The switch 934 may be ofthe single vaction type and include a button tt positioned to be engagedby the side of the lever 622. Pressing of the button H36 is adapted toactuate the switch mechanism so as to close the switch. When the buttonitt is released the switch i3d will open The button |38 is positioned tobe engaged and depressed by lateral movement in one direction of thelever l2? permitted by moving the bracket i213 about its vertical pivot|26 when the side of the lever,` 22 opposite the switch H34 is pressedlaterally ttoward the switch 34. and when the lever H22 is arranged inposition with the closure in its closed position or in the posi tiondetermined by the notch H2. There is sufficient play in the connectionbetween the lever H22 and the link i2@ to permit a slight pivosiu/lmv ofthe lever 22 about the vertical axis defined by the pin |26. Thus thepedal |23 may be actuated to manipulate the closure 00 as well as theswitch for the motor circuit.

The transverse portion of slot |38 in the casing |32 in which the lever|22 moves to close the switch |34 when lever |22 is positioned as shownin Figs. 4 and 5 is provided with a notch |40 for receiving the lever|22 so that the lever |22 may be locked in position to maintain theswitch |34 closed.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the lever |22 is shown in itsupmost position in which the closure 90 is in its closed positionagainst the Seat |00 and in which it is out of contact with the button|36, the depression of which by the lever is adapted to close the switch|34. From such position the lever |22 may be moved either downwardly orlaterally within vertically or laterally extending portions of the slot|38.

Ii' the lever |22 is moved downwardly during the first part of suchmovement, the closure 90 will be open slightly upon its seat 00 so as topermit the flow of water and other fluid material from the sink, and insuch position if the lever is not further depressed, the roller ||6 willbecome resiliently engaged within the notch ||2 for maintaining theclosure 90 in the aforesaid slightly open position. Thereafter theclosure may be released for closing movement upon its seat |00 byslightly pressing upon and then releasing either the pedal |23 or theclosure 90 as has been previously described.

If it is desired to permit the entrance of garbage from the sink intothe container l0, then this may be done by depressing the lever |22beyond the point at which the roller ||6 engages the notch ||2. Suchfurther movement of the lever |22 will rotate the cam ||0 until theroller H8 comes in contact with the notch |4 and the detent mechanismpreviously described will now retain the roller |6 in the notch I4, thusmaintaining the closure 90 in a position in which the opening betweenthe sink and the container I0 is entirely unobstructed by the closure90. In such position the garbage from the sink can be transferred to thecontainer l0 until the container Il is filled to any desired extent.

Thereafter the closure 90 may be released as has been previouslydescribed by pressing and quickly releasing either the pedal |23 or theclosure 90. In such event the lever |22 will again be returned to theposition in which it is illustrated in Fig. 5.

In the event it is desired to operate the garbage grinding mechanism forthe purpose of grinding the garbage so transferred to the container |0,it is necessary only to press laterally upon the pedal |23 in suchmanner as to rotate the lever upon its pin |26, and in such event thelever will be moved laterally within the transverse portion of the slot|38 into engagement with the button |36. When the button is depressedsuiiiciently to cause operation of the switch |34 for closing thecircuit through the garbage grinding mechanism the lever |22 may bedepressed vertically into the notch |40, in which event the "roller ||6will again be engaged in the slot I2 and will be maintained in such slotby the aforesaid detent mechanism for continuing the operation of thegarbage grinding mechanism after the pressure on the lever |22 isreleased.

When it is desired to discontinue the operation of the garbage grindingmechanism this may be leasing either the pedal |23 or the closure i0which thereupon will release the lever |22 from the notch |40 to permitthe lateral movement of the lever into the position in which it is shownby Fig. 5, in response to the outward or switch opening movement of thebutton |36 previously described.

While We have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of ourinvention, it is understood that this is capable of modification and ,wetherefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth butdesire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall withinthe purview of the following claims.

We claim:

1. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink and a closure seatsurrounding said inlet, a pivoted closure arranged to bear against saidseat for closing said inlet. said closure being mounted in saidcontainer so as to swing inwardly into said container to open said inletthereof, universally mounted means foimoving said closure to openposition upon movement of said means in one direction, and detent meanscooperable with said pivoted closure for maintaining said closure insaid open position.

2. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink and a closure seatsurrounding said inlet, a pivoted closure arranged to cooperate withsaid seat for closing said inlet, said closure being mounted in saidcontainer so as to swing inwardly into said container to open said inletthereof, universally mounted means for moving said closure toward openposition upon movement of said means in one direction, and detent meanscooperable with said closure for maintaining said closure in a pluralityof different open positions thereof.

3. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink and a closure seatsurrounding said inlet, a closure arranged to cooperate with said seatfor closing said inlet and being movable to a position to open saidinlet, universally mounted means for moving said closure to a pluralityof open positions upon movement of said means in one direction, anddetent means cooperable with said closure in said positions thereof formaintaining said closure in such positions.

4. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink, a closure memberoperable for obstructing said inlet, foot operated means connected tosaid closure member for moving the same to a non-obstructing positionrelative to said inlet, electric motor driven means in said containeroperable for reducing material therein, said motor being arranged in acircuit which includes a switch, said switch being constructed andarranged to be closed by a different movement of said foot operatedmeans.

5. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink. a closure memberoperable for obstructing said inlet and being movable to anon-obstructing position relative to said inlet, and foot operated pedalconnected to said closure member for moving the same to anon-obstructing position relative to said inlet, electric motor drivenmeans in said condone by pressing upon and then suddenly re- 73 taineroperable for reducing material therein,

vtainer for reducing said motor being arranged in a circuit whichinciudes a switch, said switch being constructed and arranged to beactuated to closed and open position by a different movement of saidfoot opcrated pedal when said closure is obstructing said inlet.

6. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink, a closure memberfor closing said inlet, means for moving said closure toward and awayfrom said inlet for closing and opening said inlet, said means includinga lever, said lever being movable in one direction for opening andclosing said inlet, garbage grinding -mechanism associated with saidcontainer for reducing the material therein and switch means responsiveto the movement of said lever in a dierent direction for operating saidgarbage grinding mechanism.

7. Garbage ldisposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink, a closure memberfor closing said inlet, means for moving said closure member toward andaway from said inlet for closing and opening said inlet, 'garbagegrinding mechanism associated with said container for reducing materialdisposed in said container through said inlet, switch means foractuating said garbage grinder mechanism, said moving means including asingle means for alternately operating said closure member and saidswitch means. 8. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a containervhaving an inlet adapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink,a closure member for closing said inlet, means for moving said closuremember toward and away from said inlet for closing and opening saidinlet, garbage vgrinding mechanism associated with said container forreducing material disposed in said container through said inlet, switchmeans for actuating said garbage grinder mechanism, said means formoving said closure member being operative to actuate said switch means,said moving means being mounted for movement into a plurality ofdifferent positions, and detent means for selectively retaining saidmoving means in a plurality of said positions.

9. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink, a closure memberfor closing said inlet, said closure member being movable toward andaway from said inlet for closing and opening said inlet, garbagegrinding mechanism associated with said conmaterial disposed in saidcontainer through said inlet, switch means for actuating said garbagegrinder mechanism and a singie means for operating said closure memberand said switch means, said single means being mounted for parallelmovements into a plurality of diierentpositions and detent means for re-8 siliently retaining said single means in some of said positions.

10. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an. inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink, a closure memberfor closing said inlet, means for moving said closure member toward andaway from said inlet for closing and opening said inlet, garbagegrinding mechanism associated with said container for reducing materialdisposed in said container through said inlet, said moving meansincluding a single means for operating said closure member and saidgarbage grinding mechanism, said single means being mounted for movementinto a plurality of different positions, a switch associated with saidsingle means in one of said positions for closing a circuit in saidgarbage grinding mechanism in response to the movement of said singlemeans into said one position, and detent means associated with saidsingle means for resiliently retaining said means in some of saidpositions.

11. Garbage disposal apparatus comprising a container having an inletadapted to be connected to the drain outlet of a sink, a closure memberfor closing said inlet, means for moving said closure mem-ber toward andaway from said inlet for closing and opening said inlet, garbagegrinding mechanism associated with said container for reducing materialdisposed in said container through said inlet, said moving meansincluding a single means for operating said closure member and saidgarbage grinding mechanism, said single means being mounted for movementinto a pluralityof different positions, a switch associated with saidsingle means in one of said positions for closing a circuit in saidgarbage grind,- ing mechanism in response to the movement of said singlemeans into said one position, and detent means associated with saidsingle means for resiliently retaining said single means in said oneposition.

GEORGE R. COSS. KEMPER M. HAMMELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,613,848 Riegel Jan, 11, 1927

